


Just Outside The Party

by ninjapizzaparty



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Office Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 12:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6565567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjapizzaparty/pseuds/ninjapizzaparty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Grumps decided to have a party at the office once a month, and this was the first of them. Everyone is excited to meet Dan's new girlfriend but he ends up showing up solo, and vanishes from the party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Outside The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaah so this is my first fanfiction ever I think? I actually started it as an assignment from a screenwriting class, but I thought it was kinda cute so here it is! I liked it and wanna do more, so I'd love to hear tips and criticism :) you can follow me on tumblr if you like, as well! i am @ninjapizzaparty

Tonight was part of Vernon’s initiative to get everyone more relaxed in the workplace: he decided they would have a party every month at the office so everyone could bring friends or dates, and generally have a good time. The only rules were that there would be no videogames, no phones and no social media. It seemed reasonable, and everyone was actually really excited for it. Brian said Audrey and Rachel would be there, Kevin’s girlfriend was joining them, and Dan even invited the girl he was seeing to come over and meet everyone.

Arin isn't naturally fond of parties, but he was unusually excited for this one. Most of his closest friends were going to be there, and for once, it was just for them, not for an audience. It had been a while since everyone got to hang out at the same time without work, cameras or microphones all around.

He’d always get stressed out hosting and planning parties, which is why he was kinda glad Vernon basically locked him out of the office for the day, since apparently planning parties is his job now. That didn’t stop him from getting anxious all day before getting ready, though.

He didn’t exactly dress up, but he made an effort to wear something that wasn’t sweatpants and flip flops, for a change. He put on some not-that-old jeans, a nice pair of sneakers, his new sailor moon tee, and a jacket. This was unusual, since he mostly wore pyjamas to the Grump Space at this point. 

Arin and Suzy were the first to arrive, but Vernon and Jack had already been there setting up for “way too long”, according to the intern. They helped out on the final details, and the place looked impeccable by the time other guest started to arrive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They mostly hung out around the couch talking, laughing way too much, eating appetizers, the usual party routine. Arin by now was shoeless sitting on the floor and playing with Audrey, as he talked to his friends and co-workers. Vernon had brought a date, so they were doing their best to embarrass him as much as humanly possible, all in good faith, of course. An hour had passed and the only guests missing were Kati, Dan, and his mysterious new girlfriend. Kati saiwasthey were giving her a ride, so Arin knew there wasn’t much chance of Dan blowing the party off, as she would never allow it.

He decided to go and check on his phone, that was by the entrance door, if they had texted anything about being late, even if it did break the party’s rules. As soon as he got up off the floor, though, the door swung open and the who big-haired duo arrived. No sign of the new girl with them, though. Maybe Dan was lying about inviting her after all. Brian immediately looked up and said:  
Whoa, where’s the infamous new girl you promised us? I had a whole list of prepared questions to ask her and possibly ruin your relationship!  
Danny laughed and hugged him, and as he went around the coffee table to say hello to everyone, he replied:  
She had some other stuff to take care of, I promise I’ll try to bring her over to the next party, ok?  
Damn, making plans one month ahead of time? You must really like this girl!  
The Australian man always had a priority to be funny over being polite, and getting on Dan’s nerves was more hilarious to him than anything else in the world.  
Oh God, Ross, already? I’ve been here for like 30 seconds, man.

He finally came around to the side of the couch that Arin was on, and after saying a shy hello to Audrey, who ran and hid behind the couch, he gave his co-host an unusually awkward hug, and soon went to go get a drink. This gave Arin a pause, but his attention was drawn back to the conversations going on behind him.

Maybe one more hour had passed, and now there was way too many people to maintain just one conversation, so Arin moved around trying to get a bit of talking with everyone. As he went from the kitchen back to the couch, he realized Dan was nowhere to be found, and he remembered he didn’t really talk to him tonight at all. He put his shoes back on, grabbed his jacket and a cup of soda, and headed out the back door.

There was a small back part of the lot, that connected to the parking lot on one side of the building. Arin had aught Dan sneaking out here after rough days or long recording sessions to have a moment for himselfwhat so whenever Dan was nowhere to be seen, this is where he'd look. There was a dumpster there, and not much else, except for a tall man, leaning against the concrete wall, and staring into nowhere with a plastic cup in his hands.  
Hey Dan, I was looking for you, man… Is everything okay?  
Oh, yeah… Sure, I’m fine, just having some alone time here with this dumpster. If we're gonna have a party to celebrate everyone working here she deserves a little love as well.

This got a chuckle out of Arin, who approached the man, leaning against the wall next to where he was. He immediately seemed uncomfortable, and tensed up his stance as Arin got near him. For a moment they stayed in silence, maybe to take time and admire the sky, maybe because they both knew the kind of conversation they were bound to have if they spoke up.  
Was it ugly? The fight you had with your lady friend?  
Dan looked up from the ground for a second, confused as to what Arin was talking about.  
I presume you had a fight, and that's why she's not here, and not because you're, like, ashamed of us, right?  
Oh, of course not dude, you know I'm super fuckig proud of all of you… It wasn't really a fight, we just had an argument of sorts and she said some things that kind of upset me, so I came here alone... Or with Kati rather, you got it.  
Yeah, I got it. Can I ask what was it she said that upset you so much? I mean, you're hanging out with the dumpster, must've been harsh!  
Arin chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood, but he stopped when he noticed his friend wasn't really laughing along. Dan had his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead, and Arin could hear a single tear hitting the tall man’s sneakers.  
Whoa, dude, what's wrong, buddy?  
He came closer to Dan and tried to hug him, but he stepped back and looked at Arin.  
I'm fine, you don't need to hug me, please just forget about it…  
Hell no, what kind of friend do you think I am? I'm gonna hug you and you're gonna like it!  
He quickly wrapped his arms around his friend and held on tight, but Dan started to wriggle and push him away.  
Arin, please, let me go, just… Please, man…  
Arin’s heart sank, as he let go and took a step back, he clearly wasn't kidding. Not knowing how to proceed, he just watched as Danny tried to wipe away his tears with his back turned, ashamed of being seen like this.  
Tell me what's going on, Daniel.  
Dan gave a nervous chuckle. It was obvious that Arin was actually worried, but being called Daniel caught the man off guard, it reminded him of being scolded as a child. He breathed in deep and tried to come up with words to say out loud, but it took a few tries to spit out more than unintelligible moans.  
The girl… Lea, let's stop calling her “the girl”... We were having a discussion the other day and she mentioned that I was in love with you, as if it was a fucking given fact… So I just laughed it off, but when I asked about it she seemed really serious, and surprised that I didn't… see it.  
There was a moment's pause, and Arin tried to take this as an opportunity to speak up.  
Look man, whatever right, everyone thinks we fuck. The lovelies, the team, even Suzy asks me about it every now and then. It's nothing to be worried about, let 'em think whatever they want, y’know?  
Dan buried his face into his hands again, taking a step closer to Arin before continuing.  
No, you don't get it. I don't care about rumours and stuff, and it's not what she thinks that bothers me, it's that I think she's fucking right, ok? And she said it without even meeting you or seeing our stuff, she knew just from hearing me talk about you, it just hit me like a truck hitting a brick wall. It didn't come up again until today, but the more I thought about the more I saw where she was coming from. Like, you know when you listen to a love song and you feel like the lyrics are about you? I feel that, and they're about you and me, Ar. Wh-When I wake up, I think about how nice it is to get to see you that day, and when I say goodbye at the end of the day and watch you go home with Suzy, my chest feels tight and I count the hours til I get to see you again. And I had felt that way for a long time, but whenever I started to think about it too hard I would just get scared and move on to something else, like work, or songs or... Girls. I just, I don't… I don't know, I'm scared, Big Cat.

The whole time Dan was making his speech, Arin just stared at him, jaw dropped, speechless. At this point, dan had tears streaming down his own face, his voice sounded broken and defeated. He had no idea how to respond to the older man's confession, but to give him a hug. He didn't hug back at first, but he eventually gave in and let Arin's touch calm him down. He focused on his breathing, and how he could feel both their hearts beating underneath each other's chest, getting slower as they both calmed down from the ordeal. 

Their touching moment was interrupted by a loud voice, and the door to where they were being thrown open.  
Are you two hooking up behind the dumpster without me? 'Cause that would just be rude.  
Vernon was slightly tipsy, by the looks of him, but visibly embarrassed when he noticed the two men in tears and holding one another.  
Oh, I'm sorry… Is everything ok? Should I leave and pretend I never saw this?  
Yes. And yes, please.  
Arin broke the hug and answered in a serious tone, one he rarely spoke in, even around his employees.

Dan used his sleeves to wipe his face again, taking a step away from Arin, but this time he didn’t turn his back. Arin sighed and rubbed his temples. When he looked back up at Dan, he seemed to have tears in his eyes.  
Dan, look, I don't really know what to say. This really came out of nowhere, it even seems like it did for you, why don't you--  
Arin was interrupted by the feeling of warm hands on his jaw, that sent shivers down his spine and made the hairs in his arms stand up. Dan was inches away from him now, staring into the teary brown eyes of his friend, and he stared back in silence. Arin grabbed at the sleeves of Dan’s jacket and closed his eyes as he drew their faces nearer, lips touching as Dan did the same. They kissed softly and almost shyly as Dan moved one of his hands to the back of Aren't head, who in turn wrapped one arm around Dan, and moved the other to his shoulder. As they got comfortable with each other and forgot the sheer madness of what they were doing, their kisses grew more passionate, with Arin opening his mouth for Dan’s tongue to enter and drive an electric shock of pleasure through both of their bodies. Dan pushes against Arin, moving them both towards what he thought was the wall, but realised was wrong as Aren't back hit the dumpster, and made the lid slam down with a thud. They broke the kiss, and started laughing in unison. When their eyes met again, they weren't worried and teary anymore, which lifted a weight as heavy as that big stupid dumpster off of Dan's back.

I think we can work this out, just make sure you don't almost decapitate me with a dumpster lid next time we make out.  
Arin said with a smile on his face, followed by a wink.  
Next time?  
Dan asked in surprise, eyebrows raised and jaw dropped.  
We should come back inside so I can apologise to Vernon, come on. There's like a huge bowl of skittles on the kitchen table with your name on it.  
Arin stepped away from their embrace and towards the door, stopping in front of it with his hand out.  
Come on, you dummy, you going back in or not?  
Dan rolled his eyes, and took Arin’s hand in his as he kissed the top of the slightly shorter man’s head.  
I hate you Arin.  
Yeah, you sure do.  
The both of them giggle as Dan reaches to open the door, letting the sound of laughter and music seep into the quiet night, and they both walk back into the party, holding hands and taking their quiet moment in this back alley with them.


End file.
